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Critical Priority: Enhancing Professionalism of Advisors

Author

Richard Wyber
Regional Senior Managing Director, International
LIMRA and LOMA

May 2025

The global business environment has never been more dynamic, offering both new opportunities for growth and unprecedented challenges and uncertainties. Leaders across all industries must navigate geopolitical instability, climate change, artificial intelligence, workforce evolution, and more. In fact, a World Economic Forum report on global risks indicates 52 percent of experts expect an “unsettled” landscape over the next two years, while 31 percent predict a “turbulent” period.

Among the many forces shaping the insurance sector, one critical priority is enhancing the professionalism of its advisors. High-quality sales professionals are essential to ensuring that customers obtain appropriate coverage, policies remain profitable for insurers, and the industry maintains high ethical standards.

To achieve this, insurers should focus on three key areas:

  1. Regulatory Compliance and Ethical Selling
    EY cites Mercer data finding 61 percent of insurers say evolving regulatory requirements are their primary operational challenge for the coming year. This makes it even more important to fully equip their advisors to navigate their region’s specific regulatory landscape — ensuring they conduct all business in compliance with the rules. This includes understanding and adhering to new consumer protection laws, disclosure requirements, and best practices in financial advice.

  2. Customer-Centric Sales Practices
    Advisors always have provided a key connection between customers and the coverage they need, and they must work to cultivate trust-based relationships with their clients. A customer-centric approach involves:

    • Conducting a thorough fact-finding process to fit products to each client’s unique situation
    • Asking the right questions to ensure suitability
    • Educating clients with transparency on policy details, benefits, and risks

As a Forbes article reiterates, “Adopting a customer-first approach involves prioritizing the needs of the customers and building strong, lasting relationships.”

  1. Training and Development
    Ongoing training and development are essential to achieving high sales quality and sustaining sales performance. Insurers should provide reputable programs that help advisors:

    • Enhance their product knowledge and understanding of ethical selling
    • Improve their customer engagement and advisory skills
    • Continue their professional growth in alignment with industry best practices

Spotlight on Asia
As one example, regulatory changes in the Asia region present both hurdles and opportunities. While heightened expectations around transparency and customer protection may introduce new challenges, these developments also foster a more robust and professional insurance industry.

Insurance Asia describes Asia’s regulatory environment as “complex,” placing increasing emphasis on enhanced product standards and ethical sales practices. It quotes MSIG Asia CEO Clemens Philippi, who notes that new insurance regulations vary by market and can either spur growth or pose temporary barriers.

While the specifics of regulatory development vary across Asia, a common theme is the importance of sales professionalism, transparency, and the fair treatment of customers. A Milliman report states many Asian markets have a “high-level/light-touch” regulatory approach — primarily focusing on disclosure and transparency (with less attention on the entire life cycle of a product). However, Milliman highlights some countries that have taken further steps with their sales practices:

Hong Kong: Regulatory frameworks address not only sales, but also product servicing and design, providing fairness throughout the policyholder journey.

India: Regulations include controls on policyholder expenses, surrender values, and equity investment limits.

Japan: The Insurance Business Law mandates that insurers confirm a client’s reasons for purchasing life insurance, reinforcing ethical sales practices.

Malaysia and Singapore: These nations emphasize achieving “good outcomes” for customers, expecting fairness to be a core element of corporate culture — and requiring competent advisors who provide “clear, relevant, and timely” information.

In addition, emerging markets such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia have implemented new regulations to enhance sales practices, foster transparency, and improve consumer trust.

Moving Forward

To support their advisors and best prepare them to succeed in the future, insurers can provide them resources to:

  • Gain the knowledge and skills needed to operate ethically and effectively
  • Strengthen consumer trust by facilitating high-quality sales interactions
  • Increase their competitiveness in a changing marketplace

Ultimately, leading organizations will prioritize and foster the professionalism of their sales team — to not only mitigate regulatory risks but also drive stronger, more sustainable growth in the insurance space. They will take a proactive approach to their training and development strategy, enabling their advisors to consistently deliver value to customers and uphold the highest standards of service.

 

LIMRA and LOMA provides training and development solutions designed to enhance advisors’ professionalism and effectiveness. These programs equip financial services sales teams to navigate evolving regulations while focusing on customer needs and sustainable profitability. With over four decades of expertise in global agency development, our industry-experienced master trainers successfully train more than 3,000 advisors and managers each year.

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